Stirba
Category:ArticlesCategory:CharactersCategory:Film characters | aliases = She-Wolf Werewolf Bitch | continuity = The Howling | image = | notability = | type = Werewolf/Witch | gender = | base of operations = Transylvania | known relatives = Stefan Crosscoe Brother; allegedly, though this facet of their relationship remains inconclusive. | status = | born = 10,000 BCE | died = 1981 | 1st appearance = Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985) | final appearance = | actor = Sybil Danning }} Stirba is a fictional werewolf witch featured in The Howling film series. Played by actress Sybil Danning, she was the central antagonist in the 1985 film The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf. Biography Stirba (pronounced Steer-ba) is a ten-thousand-year-old sorceress and the queen of all werewolves. There is an ancient legend attributed to her which states, For it is written: the inhabitants of the Earth have been made drunk with her blood. And I saw her sent upon a hairy beast and she held forth a golden chalice full of the filthiness of fornications. And upon her forehead was written: "Behold I am the great mother of harlots and all abominations of the Earth". Stirba maintained her werewolf coven inside of a castle keep in the mountains of Transylvania. Here, she conducted various occult rituals which involved blood sacrifices and orgies. By the 1980s, Stirba was an aged, crone and required the "blood of the lamb" in order to maintain her youth and beauty. Stirba's greatest nemesis was the werewolf hunter Stefan Crosscoe, whom she referred to as her "brother" and her "beloved". Stirba referred to all of her werewolf followers as brothers and sisters, so it is unclear whether Stefan was a blood relative to Stirba or not. Stirba's dialogue also hints at a romantic connection between the two, but this is never clarified in the source material. Stefan was aware of the power available at Stirba's command, and took measures to combat her werewolf coven whenever possible. It is clear that Stefan encountered Stirba's werewolves in the past. At Karen White's funeral, one elderly werewolf (whom Stefan later kills), recognized him on sight. Stefan knew that silver would not be enough to kill any werewolf from Stirba's coven. To destroy them once and for all, he required weapons made of titanium. When Stefan and his colleagues came to Transylvania to hunt Stirba down, she used the mystic powers available to her to confound their efforts. She used a siren-like howling call to disrupt the equilibrium of a dwarf hunter named Vasile. The power of her voice was so potent that it literally made Vasile's eyes explode out of his head. When a priest named Father Florin invaded her domain, Stirba made the gargoyle headpiece on her mystic staff come to life and attack him, ultimately killing him. Stefan had his final showdown with Stirba inside her throne room. Stirba tried to entrance Stefan with her powers, but he managed to get in close enough to stab Stirba through the heart with a titanium dagger. Stirba's magic energy exploded out of her and both Stefan and she burst into flames. The two died still struggling to defeat one another. Notes & Trivia * * Sybil Danning (Stirba) was also featured in a false movie preview called Werewolf Women of the SS. This was one of several such faux previews seen in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez' double-feature, Grindhouse. See also External Links * * Howling II at Wikipedia * * * * Howling II at the Horror Film Wiki References ---- Category:Werewolves Category:Witches Category:1981 character deaths Category:Characters who are burned to death